Basilica of the Seven Sorrows of Mary (Šaštín)
The Basilica of the Seven Sorrows of Mary ( Bazilika Sedembolestnej Panny Márie in Slovak ) is one of the most important basilicas in Slovakia and an important place of pilgrimage in the country. It has been a minor basilica since 1964 . It is located in Šaštín, a district of Šaštín-Stráže .
Although the pilgrimages take place all year round, those on Pentecost and the Day of the Seven Sorrows of Mary (September 15) are the most important. There is also a small museum in the basilica.
In addition to its importance as a place of pilgrimage for the Slovak Roman Catholic Church , the basilica has also been the place of pilgrimage for the Greek Catholic eparchy in Bratislava since 2009 .
history
The prehistory of the basilica goes back to the 16th century when a statue of Our Lady of Sorrows was erected in a triangular chapel in 1564. Because of the danger of constant Turkish wars, it was brought to a nearby castle in 1654, before being returned to the chapel in 1710. As a result of numerous alleged miraculous healings , the statue began to be examined in 1710 before it was solemnly recognized as miraculous by the Archbishop of Gran’s Imre Esterházy in 1732 .
In 1733 the Pauline Order acquired the statue and in 1736 began building a church and a monastery on the site of the chapel. In 1748 the church was completed and roofed, in 1751 the monastery was also roofed. The frescoes on the church ceiling and the side altars were made by Jean Joseph Chamant. Franz Anton Hillebrandt also contributed to the furnishing . In 1764, the completely completed building was ceremoniously consecrated by Archbishop Ferenc Barkóczy in the presence of the imperial couple Maria Theresia and Franz von Lorraine and the statue was inserted into the late baroque main altar made of red marble. In 1765, the first bells were consecrated, which were hung in the towers that then reached up to the roof level. The first organ was added in 1771.
When the Pauliner Order was dissolved in 1784, the church was placed under the administration of the local parish. That became state property. On the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the statue, the towers were brought to their present height and the entire complex was repaired. During the First World War, all but one of the bells were melted down. In 1924 the Salesian Order settled. The importance of the basilica also increased thanks to the papal decree “ Celebre apud Slovaccham gentem ” from 1927, which declared Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows to be the patroness of Slovakia. Therefore, in addition to the four large bells made in 1926, the church received another, almost five tons.
The activities of the Salesians were brought to an end by the communist regime of Czechoslovakia through forced expulsion, but the pilgrimage tradition was not interrupted. On November 23, 1964, the basilica of Pope Paul VI. declared the first Slovak minor basilica. After 1990 the Salesians returned to the monastery.
Architecture and interior design
The largest organ in Slovakia is located in the church . It was built in 1950 by the Rieger-Kloss company and has 86 (92) registers with five manuals.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gréckokatolícka cirkev: Bratislavská eparchia: Pútnické a odpustové miesta , accessed on September 15, 2011 (Slovak)
- ↑ Church of the Seven Sorrows of Mary organ with history and disposition (Slovak)
- ^ Organ Youtube
- ^ Bach BWV 565 Youtube
Web links
- 40,000 believers on national pilgrimage in Šaštín News service Eastern European churches 2017, with history of the church (German)
- Church of the Seven Sorrows (German)
- Basilica website (Slovak)
- History of the basilica (Slovak)
Coordinates: 48 ° 38 ′ 20.3 " N , 17 ° 8 ′ 33.1" E